Hero of Time and Space
by RegalStarlight
Summary: Belle has always wanted to see the world, but she never imagined just how big the universe could be. The Doctor isn't sure the world she comes from even exists. But one thing is obvious: she was always meant to be a hero.
1. Prologue: The Impossible Town

**Author's Note:** Because I'd like to think she's off having amazing adventures when she's sidelined on the show :)

Will include references to Rumbelle and Doctor/Rose, but mostly a Belle character piece.

* * *

 **Prologue: The Impossible Town**

* * *

"I've been picking up some weird readings from this area," the Doctor said aloud. "Funny things. For about 28 years, it looks like there's nothing here at all. The only way you can notice it is by noticing that you don't. But here – here's where it opens up. So, let's go and see what it is, shall we?"

There was no reply. He had been alone for so long, he had almost gotten used to the silence, but fighting Autons with Rose had almost felt like the old days, and that made the solitude even more painful. If only she had said yes when he asked her to come with him.

Well, nothing to do now but move forward, even if that meant traveling alone.

He opened the TARDIS doors and looked out on what seemed to be an ordinary street in an ordinary small American town: cars that looked a bit too old if he was right about the year, shops up and down the side of the street, and a clocktower looming over what looked to be a boarded-up library.

"Well, this looks fairly normal," he said to himself. "Too normal. Time to find out what secrets this normal little town is hiding."

With a smile – definitely not a forced smile, he told himself without really believing it – he set off across the street towards the library. That seemed like as good a place as any to start. He felt for the sonic screwdriver in his pocket, thinking that he might have to force his way in, but the doorknob turned in his hand, and the door swung open. Inside, he found an empty desk and an oddly-decorated wall. A very small young woman stood nearby, shelving books, and looked up when he entered.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said in an adorable accent that he thought might be Australian. "The library's not open yet."

"Well, I'm new in town," said the Doctor with a shrug. "In fact, I'm not really sure exactly where I am. I was hoping you could tell me?"

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, and that went on his list of weird things right away. What on earth could be suspicious about saying he was lost? But then she softened, and, shelving the last of the books she was carrying, came over to greet him.

"You're in Storybrooke, Maine," she said. "My name is Belle. Belle French."

"They call me the Doctor," he said promptly. He paused, expecting her to ask the question they always did, but she just nodded.

"Names have power," she murmured. "That's what Rumple says, and he would know. I understand if you don't want to share yours."

Well. That was unexpected. He raised his eyebrows and wondered silently how this Belle had unknowingly hit so close to the truth. But another question took precedence.

"Tell me, Belle," he said, "have you noticed anything … odd … around here?"

She laughed. What an unusual reaction, he thought, putting that down on the list of things that didn't make any sense at all about this town.

"Was it something I said?"

"It's just that … well, everything's odd about Storybrooke," she told him. "I mean, it's not every day that you wake up and remember you're a fairy tale character."

He was nodding along to her words, when all of a sudden they hit him like a brick to the head. His eyes widened.

"A what?"

"Wait …" the suspicion was back. "You don't know? You really are new in town, aren't you?"

Well, if she was telling the truth, he could take a good guess which character she was supposed to be. Brown hair, surrounded by books, and of course her name … no, that was just coincidence. He had seen a great many things in his life, but fairy tales simply didn't exist. There had to be some explanation. False memories of an impossible story implanted in normal human beings. Robots programmed to think they were storybook characters for some nefarious end. Or perhaps a strange sort of alien theme park. The possibilities were endless.

"Are you telling me that everyone in this town thinks they're a character out of a fairy tale?" he asked.

Belle nodded, but her expression had gone uneasy.

"Don't tell anyone," she said. "If the outside world finds out about us … well, I'm not exactly sure what will happen, but everyone seems to think it would be bad."

A genuine grin spread across the Doctor's face. Storybrooke was a mystery, and one he intended to solve.

* * *

Belle followed the Doctor out into the street, trailing behind him as he wondered aloud what the town of Storybrooke might be. His suggestions seemed bizarre to her, even more bizarre than the strange aspects of this world that she didn't have any false memories to soften. But her curious mind was burning to know more about the stranger.

"Wait for me," she called, hurrying after him as fast as her high-heeled shoes would allow. "Look, just let me show you around town. Then you'll see it's perfectly normal except for the little … oddity, and you can be on your …"

Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of her father's flower truck driving down the street. She gulped. Fresh memories of a dark mine tunnel and a handcuff around her wrist sent a surge of panic through her.

"What?" the Doctor asked, apparently noticing her sudden silence. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing. I just saw someone I'd rather not think about, that's all."

He didn't pry further, and she was grateful for that. Instead, after an awkward moment, he asked, "What about that diner you were telling me about, then?"

Belle's face lit up. "They serve the best iced tea. Come on, I'll show you."

* * *

At the diner, Belle sat across from the Doctor and watched as he picked at his meal. She, meanwhile, dug into her burger, savoring the strange combination of flavors. If there was one thing she loved about this world, it was the food.

"Tell me again how you got here, Belle," the Doctor said, pushing fries around on his plate.

"Well, there was a curse," she said. "The Evil Queen's curse. It destroyed our land and brought us here, created Storybrooke."

"You're telling me you're from some kind of parallel world?"

Belle shrugged. She hadn't thought about it that way, but it didn't seem far off.

"I'm still not convinced this is real," he admitted. "Even for me, it's too far-fetched."

"I know how you feel," said Belle. "Sometimes it doesn't feel real to me, either. Like this is a dream, and any minute now, I'll wake up back in the Enchanted Forest."

From the look on his face, she realized that wasn't quite what he had meant. But then something registered in his eyes, like a hint of recognition.

"You say your world was destroyed?"

Belle nodded. "I think so. David – Prince Charming – is trying to find a way back, but Rumple says there's nothing left to go back to."

Was that sympathy in his eyes? No, more like empathy, Belle realized, becoming determined to figure out what secrets the seemingly cheerful Doctor was hiding.

"Rumple," said the Doctor. "You keep saying that name."

"Rumplestiltskin. He's …" Belle hesitated. What she and Rumple were to each other now, she still wasn't sure. "In this world's stories, I guess you could say he's my Beast. But enough about me. Tell me about yourself. Who are you? How did you get here?"

He sat back and looked at her for a long time. Then, seeming to make a decision, he spoke:

"I'm an alien."

"What!?" Belle stared at him, flabbergasted.

"I come from another world, like you, but my world was a planet a long way away."

Was. Past tense. "What happened?"

"It's gone now," he said.

"And you … you're all alone? Or are there others?"

The Doctor hesitated.

"I'm alone," he said quietly. "There was someone. A girl named Rose. I asked her to travel with me, but she said no. The whole of space and time and …" his brow furrowed. "I didn't actually tell her the TARDIS did time travel, did I?"

Belle stared at him, unable to process what he was saying so casually.

"Time travel is impossible," she stammered. "I've read about it. That's one of the three laws of magic: you can't change the past."

The Doctor grinned again. "For you, maybe. I'm a Time Lord. Changing the past is what I do."

There it was again, that little flicker of something she couldn't quite name beneath the smiling exterior. For a moment, she was reminded inexplicably of Rumple. But that wasn't quite right. He was more like the reverse of Rumple. Instead of hiding his humanity beneath a persona meant to frighten, the stranger was putting up a cheerful front that hid … sorrow? Regret? The simple fact that he was not, in fact, human?

"You could come with me," he said. "See the universe."

Belle smiled, but it was a sad smile. That was what she had always wanted: to travel, to see the world, to be a hero. All of space and time sounded like a dream come true. And yet …

"There are things that I need to do here and now," she said.

His face fell.

"But maybe … some other time? If I see you again, that is?"

The Doctor nodded. Then, with a smile, he grabbed a pen and a napkin and jotted down a phone number.

"Call me if you change your mind," he said. "I'll come back for you."

Belle took the napkin and folded it carefully before putting it in her purse for safekeeping. Then, turning back to the Doctor, she added: "You should give Rose another chance. Tell her you travel in time, see what she does."

The Doctor looked at her closely and asked, "What makes you say that?"

"I can tell she means a lot to you," said Belle. "And you shouldn't be alone. No one should."


	2. Someplace Amazing

A few days later, Belle called the number and stepped nervously into the blue police box. As she looked around, her mouth fell open in shock.

"It's … it's …"

"Bigger on the inside?" the Doctor supplied helpfully.

Belle shook her head. "I've heard of things like that before. Genies' lamps, magical objects. No, I was going to say, it's like something out of a science fiction book."

The Doctor laughed. "Science fiction doesn't know what it's talking about half the time. Trust me, I know."

"What is this, anyway?"

"It's a TARDIS," said the Doctor. "Time and Relative Dimension in Space. It can take us anywhere in all of space and time."

Belle grinned and said, "Prove it. Take me someplace amazing!"

"Now that, I can do," said the Doctor, smiling as he pulled a lever on the control panel. A whirring noise surrounded them. Belle didn't feel as if they were flying, but when the noise stopped, the Doctor turned to her and said:

"Here we are. New Earth, the year five billion and ten. Want to go out and have a look around?"

Belle stared at him. "You're not serious?"

"Try me," said the Doctor.

Despite her doubts, Belle couldn't contain her excitement as she opened the TARDIS doors. She looked out to see a skyline unlike anything she had ever imagined. Silver skyscrapers towered over the horizon, and things that weren't quite cars flew past. If this was New Earth, it certainly wasn't anything like the old earth. Or maybe it was. She hadn't seen enough of the old earth to know for sure.

"That's New New York," said the Doctor, pointing at the skyline. "In another decade or so, it'll be really impressive, but right now they're just starting to build it. There's a big revival movement going on."

"Why?" Belle asked, looking up at him.

"Well, it's the year five billion and ten," said the Doctor. "The sun expanded a few years back, and the old earth was destroyed. That was enough to get everyone nostalgic. They picked this planet because of how much it's like the old earth. Blue sky, green grass, that sort of thing."

"Do other planets not have blue skies?" Belle asked.

"Some of them," the Doctor said with a shrug. His cheerful demeanor vanished, and he grew pensive. "My planet's sky was orange. It's funny how you spend your whole life running from something only to miss it when it's gone. Just like you humans and your earth."

Belle thought back to what he had told her before about how his world had been destroyed.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"No need to be sorry," he said. He smiled again, but she could tell it was forced. "Come on. Let's go explore New New York."

* * *

The streets of New New York were bustling, full of people walking to and fro, vendors selling food that Belle didn't recognize, and more flying cars zooming past. It was clearly a city under construction, but a city well on its way to becoming a shining alien metropolis.

The people on the streets looked human enough, but Belle couldn't help but wonder. After all, the Doctor looked human, too.

"Oh, yes, they're human," he said when she asked. "Of course they're human. Why wouldn't they be?"

Belle shrugged. "I just wasn't sure. I've seen people who looked like they should be human and weren't quite … except they were, really."

She was thinking of Rumple, but she realized when she said it that she could just as easily say the same thing about the Doctor. The two men couldn't be more different, and yet they had that in common.

"You've seen a lot of things, haven't you?" the Doctor asked.

"Nothing like this," said Belle. "Mostly the insides of castles. And dungeons. And hospital rooms."

She shuddered, but the city around her was too incredible to let her dwell on anything painful for long.

"Well, no dungeons or hospitals today," said the Doctor. "There are much better things to see. Come on, I'll show you the city. Just remember: don't wander off."

As they wandered up and down the streets, Belle suddenly heard a strange whining sound coming from behind one of the buildings, like the cry of an animal in pain. Without thinking, she started off toward the noise, darting between two of the buildings and into a side-street. The city transformed in front of her. What had been a silver metropolis gave way to dark alleys and shabbier buildings. She heard the cry again and followed it, barely noticing that the Doctor was no longer beside her.

There, lying in the alley, was a cat.

Well, not quite a cat. It was larger than any cat Belle had ever seen, with long hind legs like a human's, and strangest of all, it was wearing a tattered human dress. But its face was definitely a cat's face, and it was in pain. Her heart melted. She approached slowly, trying not to frighten the poor creature.

"Hey there," she said. "Don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you."

The cat snarled at her. Then, in a human voice, it said, "Leave me alone."

Belle stared at the cat. For a moment, she thought she was imagining things, but then it spoke again in a scared-sounding voice.

"I said go away."

"I'm sorry," said Belle quietly. "But did you just speak?"

"Well, what do you think I did?" the cat asked.

This really was bizarre, Belle thought. It was as if she had been carried off to Wonderland or Oz instead of an alien planet years in the future.

"My name is Belle," she said. "What's yours?"

The cat glared at her distrustfully. Then: "Katrina. Katrina Harrison."

"And …" how to ask without seeming rude? "I'm not exactly from here. If you don't mind me asking, what …"

"What am I?" Katrina asked. "I'm a cat, of course."

Ah. Well, that much was obvious. "Where I'm from, the cats are smaller, and they don't talk."

"I'm not one of your housecats from Earth. I'm Catkind."

Katrina's proud tone was still tinged with pain and fatigue. Then she coughed and spat up blood on her sleeve as she rushed to cover her mouth.

"You're ill," Belle said softly.

Katrina nodded. Belle reached out instinctively to stroke the cat's fur, but she shrank back. "It might be contagious."

"Sorry. Look, I have a friend who's a doctor. Not that kind of doctor, I don't think, but still. Maybe he can help you."

She stood, and Katrina the cat looked up at her with sad eyes.

"I'm not leaving," she said. "I'm just going to find my friend, and then I'll be right back."

When she rushed back out into the main street, the Doctor was nowhere to be seen. She ran up and down among the silver buildings, looking through the crowd for the familiar face with the big ears and leather jacket, but there were too many people and he seemed to have vanished. Then – there he was! On the opposite side of the street, craning his neck and looking for her. Their eyes met, and she ran to him.

"Doctor, I need your help," she blurted out.

"Belle?" he said. "Where have you been? Didn't I say not to wander off? Why doesn't anyone listen when I say that?"

Belle ignored him. "Come on. I found a sick cat – a cat-person. She needs our help."

The Doctor's eyes lit up, and he let Belle drag him back across the street and into the alley where Katrina the cat was waiting, curled up in pain. The Doctor's face fell when he saw her.

"What's wrong with her?" Belle asked.

The Doctor paused. "I'm not sure. Weakness, lack of energy, coughing up blood … could be any number of diseases. But she shouldn't be out here in the streets. We need to get her to a hospital. That's the only way she'll have a chance."

The cat shook her head. "Don't you know what this is?"

Belle looked to the Doctor, hoping he would understand, but he looked just as confused as she felt.

"It's the cat plague. No one survives."

The Doctor scowled and shook his head. "There's a lovely hospital somewhere around here, run by cat nuns. They can cure just about anything."

* * *

They took Katrina the cat to the city's shining new hospital, staffed by cat nuns who assured them they would do everything they could to save her. But even Belle and the Doctor were astonished when Katrina came back out into the lobby an hour later, smiling and looking totally healed.

"Well, that was fast," said the Doctor. "How …"

"We are the most advanced hospital in the known universe," said one of the cat nuns. "A simple cough is nothing for us."

Belle glanced around cautiously. She had a bad feeling about this place, but she didn't want to voice it. It was just an after-effect of what she went through in the asylum, she told herself. Of course she would feel uncomfortable in a hospital. That didn't mean there was anything wrong going on.

"Let's get out of here," she whispered to the Doctor. "I don't like hospitals."

So they did. Later, he would come back and learn the truth, but for now, they left together to explore New Earth, still blissfully ignorant.

* * *

They sat down to eat at a strange little restaurant. Belle didn't recognize everything on the menu, even though the Doctor told her it was supposed to be "old Earth nostalgic", but she figured she couldn't go wrong with a burger and iced tea. Flying cars zoomed by overhead. Humans and cats mingled in the streets. For a moment, Belle could see why people in the future would choose to make this planet home.

Then the peaceful scene shattered. A man ran down the street, screaming.

"Help!" he cried. "Please, someone help! They're going to make me forget! I don't want to forget!"

Belle and the Doctor sprang to their feet in unison. They approached the screaming man. The crowd cleared around them. Everyone else seemed to want to get as far away from him as possible.

"What's the matter?" the Doctor asked, running up beside him.

The man's eyes went wide. "Don't you know?"

Belle sighed. How many times was someone going to say that today?

"No, we don't," she said. "We're new in town. So tell us."

"The hospital … they've invented a new drug. They call it Forget."

Belle fought the panic that rose up in her as she remembered the years she had spent in the hospital back in Storybrooke, not knowing where she had come from or why she was there.

"And they want to use it on you?" she asked.

He nodded vigorously. "My wife died in a car crash. One that I barely survived. They healed my body and they say the drug will heal my mind, but I don't want to forget a single moment. My memories … they're all I have left."

Belle nodded. She glanced at the Doctor and saw a look of understanding on his face.

"So you escaped," he said.

The man nodded. He looked nervously over his shoulder.

"I don't understand," said the Doctor. "That hospital is the best in the universe. How could they do something as unethical as non-consensual memory modification?"

The man didn't reply. Belle thought that "hospital" and "unethical" went pretty well together in her experience, but maybe things were different billions of years in the future than they were in a cursed 21st century town. Or maybe not.

"They wouldn't have forced me to. Except I learned their secret. They can't risk that I'll tell anyone. That's why they really developed it, I think."

"And what's their secret?" Belle asked.

The man shook his head. His eyes widened, and he pointed at something in the distance. A trio of cat nuns was approaching.

"There's no time," he said in a panicked tone.

"Come on, let's go!" said the Doctor.

They set off down the street together. But when they turned the corner, an army of cat nuns was waiting for them. Belle stared in shock at their feline faces. Then a strange scent filled her nostrils, and the world faded to black.

* * *

Belle woke in a hospital bed. The room around her was blindingly white, and – oh, god. She couldn't move. Her wrists were strapped down to the bed. She felt her heart pounding and all of a sudden she was back on a cot in a padded room staring at the only four walls she had ever seen, trying to remember something, anything, waiting for the cold-eyed nurse or the smirking woman just to know that there were other people out there. She felt tears stream out of the corners of her eyes. She could have handled monsters, swords, scary aliens, anything. Anything but this.

"Belle? Are you okay?"

The Doctor's familiar voice brought her back. She turned her head toward the sound and saw him lying on the bed next to hers, also struggling to break free. The stranger was nowhere in sight.

"What's going to happen to us?" She couldn't contain the fear in her voice.

"I don't know," said the Doctor. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought you here."

Belle wanted to shake her head and tell him no, she didn't regret it. She would rather see the universe and lose it all than stay stuck in Storybrooke all her life. But she couldn't find the words, and she wondered if they were true.

The door opened, and a cat nurse came in. She glanced over her shoulder and closed it carefully behind her. Belle's heart was racing, but she clenched her fists, determined not to show her fear.

"What are you going to do to us?" she demanded, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Nothing," said the nurse.

"Nothing?" the Doctor asked. "Nothing as in, 'you won't remember a thing'? That sort of nothing?"

The nurse shook her head and loosened the restraints on Belle's wrists. "You'll have to hurry. They're coming for you, and I won't be able to stop them. They've already given the memory modification drug to your friend, and they'll be back for you in a few minutes."

"Wait," said Belle, sitting up and rubbing her wrists. "You're helping us? Why?"

"I don't agree with what they're doing," she said, moving to free the Doctor. "Mood drugs can do wonders. I helped to develop a few of them myself. But somewhere along the way we decided that we know what's best for people whether they agree or not, and that's wrong."

"Thank you."

"You should come with us," said the Doctor.

She shook her head. "I cannot."

"You stay here, they'll probably make you forget," he said.

"I know," she said. "But this is my life's work, and I won't leave it. Now go."

Belle exchanged a quick look with the Doctor, and they ran for the door.

* * *

"What is it with this Forget drug?" Belle asked as they ran.

"Oh, you know, every society has something," the Doctor told her. "For New Earth, it's mood drugs – things to play with your emotions, you know? Happy, Bliss, Honesty. Forget. Some of them become quite popular a few decades from now. I never thought about how they got started, but it makes sense that they come from here."

"Let's get out of here," she said as they turned the corner.

"No, no, we can't go yet," said the Doctor. "We've got to get to the bottom of this."

"Doctor," said Belle, stopping in her tracks. "You've been to New Earth before."

"Never to the hospital," he said. "But yes."

"Are the mood drugs still a problem in 20 or 30 years?"

He shrugged. "They exist, but not like this."

"Then there's nothing to worry about. Things will sort themselves out."

The Doctor was silent.

"Won't they?"

"Maybe not. Maybe it's what we do now that decides if that happens."

"Doctor!" Belle cried. The sterile white walls of the hospital loomed up around her. She couldn't contain her panic. "Please. I can't do this. I can't stay here. I just want to go home."

Home. Where was that now? It had been so long since she had a proper home, and yet right now all she wanted to do was go back there.

His eyes softened. "I'm sorry, Belle. I really am. I put people in danger, I get them killed trying to be the hero, it's what I do. I have centuries' worth of blood on my hands. And I'm sorry."

"What are you saying?" Belle asked.

"That I'm getting you out of here," he said, taking her hand. "Come on."

They ran through the hallways until finally they reached the lobby and burst through the front doors out into the street. The crowd in the streets stopped to stare at them, but no one got in their way. There it was, the TARDIS, just across the street, and then they were bursting through the doors into the impossibly large control room. Her chest heaving, belle slammed the door closed behind them. That noise started up again, and the Doctor caught Belle in his arms. He pressed a kiss onto her forehead.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Belle murmured. "It's mine. The … hospital thing. Maybe the adventure thing, too. I just … I just can't …"

He just held her, and she slowly felt the tension in her body melt away.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"In space," he said. "I have an idea – a way we can help New Earth without putting you in any more danger."

Belle wasn't sure what the Doctor was doing when he pulled out a box of fireworks. But he clearly did.

"It's getting dark now," he said. "Almost time. We can go back down and watch if you like. Not in the city. We'll have a better view away from the crowds, anyway."

* * *

So they stood on a hilltop on New Earth, watching "DON'T FORGET" blink across the sky, spelled out in little bursts of light again and again.

"Do you think it will work?" Belle asked.

"I don't know," said the Doctor. "Time is fluid. Forget will probably come back someday. I know some of the other mood drugs stay popular. But that's a worry for another day."

Belle nodded. "You'll come back, then?"

"Maybe," he said. "Probably, sooner or later."

* * *

He dropped her off back in Storybrooke.

"I'm not saying never again," she said. "Just no more space hospitals, or any hospitals, and … I just need some time. To figure things out, you know?"

"Take as much time as you need."

"You never did go back for Rose, did you?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"You should," she said. "Next time I go on an adventure with you, I want to meet her."


	3. The Frozen Planet

Belle was shelving books when a now-familiar whirring noise caught her attention. She looked up just in time to see the TARDIS materialize in the lobby of the library. The door swung open, and the Doctor stepped out, now followed by a blonde girl who could only be the Rose he had told her about and a tall man in a trench coat.

"Belle!" the Doctor shouted, running up and throwing his arms around her. "How are you? How's Storybrooke?"

She gulped and shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to tell him that Storybrooke was much worse off than it had been the last time they saw each other, what with the angry mobs chasing after her friend and the rude interruption to her burger date with Rumple yesterday, not to mention the fact that Prince Charming was now trapped in a sleeping curse. Instead, she peered over the Doctor's shoulder at the small crowd of people he had brought with him.

"Who are they?" she asked.

"Belle, I want you to meet Rose Tyler and Jack Harkness," said the Doctor, waving his hand dramatically.

"Hello," said the man, winking at her. It seemed like a simple greeting, but for some reason, Rose and the Doctor cringed. Belle ignored them.

"It's nice to meet you, Jack," she said. "And you, Rose. The Doctor's told me a lot about you."

Her brow furrowed, and Belle wondered if he had told her how much time had passed for him between the time he left and came back.

"Listen, Belle," said the Doctor. "The TARDIS picked up a distress call earlier, and we're on our way to check it out. I know you said you needed time, but if you want to come with us, you'd be more than welcome."

Belle looked from him to the TARDIS and the smiling faces of Jack and Rose. Then she looked back at the Doctor. "No hospitals this time."

"Absolutely none."

"Good. Count me in."

* * *

He took them to a mountainous ice planet.

"Too far away from its sun for most life forms," he said. "But it's beautiful, isn't it?"

It was. The snow-capped mountains were like something out of a storybook, larger and more majestic than anything Belle had seen, even in the Enchanted Forest. Below, ice-covered plains stretched out for as far as the eye could see. But the Doctor's words worried Belle.

"Doctor," she said. "If most things can't survive here, what about us?"

He shrugged. "Go back into the TARDIS and grab a coat if you're cold. We won't be here long."

So the four of them bundled up in warm winter coats and made their way down the side of the mountain, and Belle thought to herself that it wasn't much colder than an ordinary winter in the Enchanted Forest.

"Who exactly are we here to rescue?" Rose asked.

"No idea," said the Doctor. "But I would guess stranded explorers, victims of a spaceship crash, something like that."

"Let's go find them, then," said Jack. "Before we all freeze to death."

* * *

Halfway down the mountain, Belle was shivering and thinking she had been wrong: this was definitely worse than your average winter in the Enchanted Forest.

"Are you sure we're going the right direction?" she asked, her teeth chattering.

"I think so," said the Doctor. "It's a big planet, bigger than Earth. But they should be somewhere around -"

At that moment, the earth shook beneath them like the floor of the castle had when the ogres attacked. All four of them lost their footing and went tumbling down the side of the mountain. Belle looked up to see an avalanche of snow descending on them.

"Run!" said the Doctor.

"Over there!" said Rose, pointing to the gaping mouth of a cave. The four of them made a run for it. Belle went sprawling into the snow again as she tripped over the uneven ground, but she pulled herself back up again and reached the cave with the others just as the wave of snow cascaded down, washing everything away and blocking up the mouth. Belle's heart was racing. She turned to the others. She couldn't see them now, or even make out the outlines of their bodies.

"What do we do now?"

"Nothing to do," said an unfamiliar voice from somewhere in the dark. A light flickered, and a woman stepped forward, holding something that looked like a lantern. "You're trapped here, same as us."

Belle stared at her. She noticed two other figures huddled together farther back in the cave.

"You're the ones who sent out the distress signal."

"We didn't think anyone would see it," the woman said. "But yes. My name's Liza. This is my girlfriend, Stella, and my brother, Carl. Our ship crashed, and we've been trapped here for days."

"Days?" asked the Doctor. His eyes widened. Belle knew what he was thinking: that they were lucky to still be alive.

"For three people who've been trapped under ice and snow that long, you look pretty good," said Jack. He winked again and gave them a flirtatious smile. The three strangers shot him disbelieving looks.

"Who are you?" asked Stella. Her voice was hoarse and carried a heavy dose of suspicion.

"I'm the Doctor. These are my companions, Rose, Jack, and Belle."

"We came to rescue you," Belle added.

Stella let out a scornful laugh.

"Good luck with that," said Carl. "There's no way out of here."

"You have a ship, though?" asked Liza. "If we could get to it, you could get us off the planet?"

The Doctor nodded. "Getting to it will be the hard part."

"Well, then," she said. "Let's come up with a plan, because I am not going to let my family die in this frozen wasteland."

* * *

An hour later, they still hadn't gotten anywhere. Belle was huddled in the corner, her teeth chattering, thinking that this was definitely not your average winter in the Enchanted Forest.

"Okay, look," she said. "If we can't get away, can we at least make a fire or something? We won't be able to do anything if we freeze to death."

"We don't have anything to make a fire with," said Stella, curled up by Liza's side. "No lighters, or even matches. We weren't supposed to land here."

Belle tilted her head and looked at them through narrowed eyes, wondering if they really expected her to believe that they needed some bizarre future technology to do something that any peasant could manage back home. But Stella seemed serious, and none of the others contradicted her. Belle sighed.

"Get me a couple of rocks," she said. "And something to catch the flame on. Straw would be best, but I think a scrap of fabric should work. And anything you don't need, so that I can burn it."

They watched her as she made the fire like they couldn't believe she was really doing it just by banging two rocks together. Even Rose and Jack. Later, when they were all huddled around the little campfire she had made, Liza looked at her and asked:

"Where did you say you were from, again?"

Belle shrugged. "I'm not from around here."

"We're time travelers," said Jack. "And I'm starting to think you're from farther back than the 21st century."

Again, she shrugged. "It's complicated."

"Yeah, I bet," said Jack.

"What are you talking about?" Carl demanded. "Time travel? You're crazy people!"

The Doctor laughed. It didn't seem to make the three strangers any more comfortable.

"What are you three doing here, anyway?" Rose asked. "Bit out-of-the way, isn't it?"

They exchanged a glance.

"Our ship crashed," said Stella. "That's all you need to know."

Belle considered herself a fairly trusting person, but there was something suspicious about that. She kept her thoughts to herself. It was probably nothing.

* * *

"Is this snow ever going to melt?" Rose demanded. Another hour had gone by, and their pitiful little campfire was starting to go out.

"Of course it's not," said Carl bluntly. "We're on a freaking ice planet. How dumb are you?"

Rose glared at him. "Well, where I'm from, snow eventually melts. But I'm smart enough to know that if we don't get out of here somehow, we're going to freeze to death, or starve."

Stella flinched and buried her face in Liza's shoulder. Carl rolled his eyes.

"Rose is right," said the Doctor. "We need to get out of here sooner rather than later."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Carl asked. "I already told you. The snow isn't melting."

But before the Doctor could answer, a horrible roaring noise filled the cave. Carl screamed. Liza held Stella close. Belle jumped to her feet.

"What was that?" she asked.

It didn't take long for her question to be answered. A creature emerged from the shadows, like a bear with long white fur, if bears were eight feet tall and had two sets of eyes. It snarled at them. Carl grabbed a rock from the cave floor and threw it at the creature, but it glanced off the side of its enormous body, and the creature turned on Carl, snarling and snapping its jaws. It exhaled, and a fine white mist came pouring out of its mouth and nose, surrounding Carl. When it settled, he was frozen in place, trapped in a block of ice. Liza sank to her knees, sobbing.

"Doctor, what was that?" Rose asked. But he was staring at the creature, speechless.

"Doctor, help us," said Belle. "What can we do?"

He took a step forward. Then, with a stomp, he put out what remained of their fire.

"What did you do that for?" Stella demanded.

"The creatures on this planet are adapted to a very cold environment. They can survive out here, even in the winter, with only their own body heat. Fire is deadly to them."

"And cold is deadly to us," said Stella, her voice rising in pitch. "What are we going to do?"

"Nothing," said Belle. "We've already found our way out of here."

* * *

With the fire put out, the bear wasn't attacking them anymore. Instead, it lay down to rest, and Belle sat down at its side, stroking its fur and whispering to it. The others huddled together on the opposite side of the cave, shivering in the cold.

"I hope she knows what she's doing," said Liza. Her eyes were still red and puffy from crying.

"She does," the Doctor assured her. "I don't travel with incompetent people."

"Who are you, anyway?" Stella asked. "You said you heard our distress signal, but … how? No one ever comes out here except explorers, and fugitives, and really lost tourists sometimes."

"Maybe we're really lost tourists, then," said the Doctor. "Does it matter?"

"It matters," said Liza.

When she didn't elaborate, Rose nodded and asked, "Because you're not lost tourists, are you? You're running from something."

The two women exchanged a glance. After a moment, Liza nodded.

"Five years ago, the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire tried to colonize a planet two systems over. It didn't go well. The planet was already inhabited, and the creatures that lived there were clever enough to fight back. They didn't look human, but they were clever. Sentient. There was a war, and the Empire eventually decided to cut their losses. They gave the order to blow up the planet."

She waited a moment, swallowed, and then continued. "I was the one who received that order."

The Doctor's eyes widened.

"I didn't do it. Carl and I sabotaged the weapon, stole a spaceship, and went on the run. It didn't matter. The planet still got blown up in the end. We met Stella later, and that's what we do: hop around from one out-of-the-way planet to another, try not to get caught by the Empire. It's not a bad life. But if you're from the Empire, if you're here to take us back to stand trial, I'll kill myself before I'll let that happen."

The Doctor shook his head.

"No," he said. "We're not from the Empire. You can trust us."

"I hope you're right," said Stella.

"He is," Belle spoke up. No one was quite sure when she had stopped talking to the ice-bear, but now she was watching them with a smile on her face.

"We're not so different, really," said the Doctor. "When I was younger, I stole a ship and ran away. And I've been running ever since, with the people I've found along the way."

"Any luck with the bear?" Jack asked, and Belle nodded.

"He'll help us get back to our ship if we promise not to light any more fires. And there's something else he'd like to do, too."

"Not sure if I like the sound of that," said Liza, but Belle just chuckled.

"You will," she said.

The bear stood and padded forward, until he stood just in front of the block of ice that used to be Carl. He let out a breath, and the ice started to melt. It dripped away little by little until all that was left was Carl, dripping wet and shivering, the ends of his fingers tinged with frostbite. Liza ran forward and threw her arms around him.

"You're okay! I can't believe it. You're really okay!"

The bear did the same thing to the snow that blocked up the mouth of the cave, and they all stepped out into the sunlight.

"All right," said the Doctor. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

When they finally found the TARDIS, halfway buried in snow, the ice-bear melted the snow around it for them with another warm breath. Liza and Carl exchanged a skeptical glance.

"You don't actually expect us to believe that this is your ship, do you?" Liza asked. But to everyone's surprise, Stella put and arm around her and nodded.

"It is," she said. "I've seen something like this once before, but the man it belonged to didn't look a thing like any of them. It's bigger inside than how it looks from the outside."

The Doctor's eyes widened, and he turned to stare at her. "What did that man call himself?"

"John Smith," said Stella.

"Interesting," said the Doctor. "You're not someone from my past, or at least I don't think you are … so I suppose that means I'll see you again someday."

"Enough talking," said Jack. "Let's go, before we all get buried under the snow again."

* * *

"Where to now?" Rose asked after they had dropped their new friends off on a safer planet far enough away from the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire.

"Well, there's Apalapucia, the second best holiday destination in the universe."

"Sounds perfect," said Belle, grinning. "After the day we've had, I think we all deserve a holiday."


	4. The Opposite of Regeneration

**Author's Note:** As much as I love Regina, she's done some pretty awful things to Belle. And so the Doctor's first encounter with her isn't exactly a positive one.

Also, there's a little bit of Rumple/Lacey in this chapter.

* * *

The next time the Doctor showed up, he wasn't the same Doctor anymore, and Belle wasn't the same Belle.

"I'm sorry," she said when she answered the phone. "Who is this?"

"The Doctor."

"Which doctor? I was in an accident, you see, and I can't remember anything."

"I'm an old friend," he said. "Where are you now?"

"At the hospital."

His heart plummeted. He wondered whether she remembered her fear of hospitals, and a part of him hoped she had forgotten. He landed his TARDIS just around the corner and flashed his psychic paper at the nurse at the front desk, but when he got to Belle's room, she greeted him with a vacant smile, devoid of recognition. At first he wanted to believe it was just because of his new face, but nothing changed when he mentioned Jack and Rose, the planets they had been to, the worlds they had saved. He cursed himself for bringing her back here, although he knew that taking her to face an army of daleks wouldn't have kept her any safer.

But she had lost her memories. Everything they had done together, everything she had been and done … it was just gone.

He couldn't take her on an adventure in the TARDIS like this, so he stayed and chatted with her for a while before he left to find out what was wrong.

First he tried Mr. Gold's pawn shop, but Belle's mysterious boyfriend didn't seem to be in. Then he dropped by the police station, but there was no one there, either. Finally, he stopped a random woman on the street and asked her who was in charge, and she just gave him a blank look and shrugged her shoulders.

"The Sherriff's out of town, the royal family's dealing with something to do with a giant, and the Mayor's still in hiding even though they figured out she didn't kill Dr. Hopper. If you need something, maybe talk to the fairies?"

"Fairies," he said, ignoring the absurdity of that. "Okay. Where can I find them?"

"At the convent," the woman said. "They're nuns, of course."

Nuns. Fairy nuns. Somehow, cat nuns were so much easier to accept.

* * *

The Mother Superior of the fairy nuns turned out to be one of the least helpful people the Doctor had ever met. It couldn't be more obvious, from her pursed lips and fake-nice tone, that she wasn't interested in helping Belle.

"I'm afraid my magic can't do everything," she said. "The best way to cure memory loss is a True Love's Kiss, but given the circumstances, I don't think that's likely."

"Why?" he asked. "She has a boyfriend, right?"

Mother Superior laughed. It was a very delicate laugh, but it put him on edge. "You've clearly never met him."

* * *

The cure for memory loss here in Storybrooke might be True Love's Kiss, but the Doctor knew of a thousand causes and a thousand different cures for it. Something, somewhere out there in the universe, would be able to bring back Belle's memories. So when he came back to Storybrooke with a glowing blue flower of a memory plant, he went straight to the hospital to find Belle's room empty and the nurse as unhelpful as Mother Superior.

At Gold's Pawn Shop, he found her, dressed in a short skirt and fishnet tights, perched on the edge of the counter and drinking. He stopped in the doorway, shocked by the sudden way she had changed.

"Belle …"

She slammed her glass back down on the counter. "Will you people stop calling me that? It's Lacey."

Wow. This wasn't normal. This was like … it was like the opposite of regeneration. Instead of more or less the same person in a different body, she looked the same but might as well have been a totally different person. She was like Rose, when Cassandra O'Brien had taken over her body. She was like a very bad auton duplicate. But she wasn't. His instincts told him this was something specific to this town's weirdness.

"I'm sorry, but the shop's closed," said a man, emerging from the backroom. The Doctor's eyebrows shot up. This had to be Mr. Gold. He was a small, thin man who walked with a cane, and he was looking at the Doctor like he could do something rather nasty to him if he wanted. The Doctor's first thought was that Belle deserved better. But then, who chooses to love based on what other people think they deserve?

"I'm the Doctor," he said. "I don't know if Belle told you about me …"

"She did," said Mr. Gold. "Belle believed in honesty."

"What happened to her?" the Doctor asked.

Gold turned to the girl who looked like Belle and asked, "Can you give us a moment, please?"

"Sure," she said, setting her glass down with a loud clinking noise. "Let me know when you're done talking about this 'Belle'."

When she had vanished into the backroom, Mr. Gold turned back to the Doctor with a grim expression.

"She crossed the town line and lost her memory," he said. "Then Regina did something to make her into … well, what you just saw."

"Is there any way to get her back?"

"True Love's Kiss," said Mr. Gold. "But I'm afraid that's not going well."

"Because she's not the woman you loved," said the Doctor. "Or, not entirely her, at least. And she doesn't remember loving you."

He nodded. The Doctor thought that Mother Superior had been sadly mistaken when she suggested Gold didn't love her enough. From the look in his eyes, that wasn't the problem.

"I brought this," said the Doctor, pulling the flower out from his coat. "It's a flower from the memory plant that grows on the planet of Mnemosyne. It can bring back lost memories, but I don't know what it would do with an alternate personality."

Mr. Gold shook his head. "Belle won't be your guinea pig. Come back when you _know_ what it does."

The Doctor nodded. That seemed harsh, but fair.

"I'll keep trying," he said. "And you should, too. I don't know much about your world, or True Love's Kiss, but something specific to the world the curse is from is logically the best solution."

Mr. Gold nodded silently.

"And one more thing," said the Doctor. "You said someone called Regina did this to her?"

Another nod.

"Tell me where I can find her."

* * *

"I don't care why you did it. I don't care what kind of a grudge you have against Mr. Gold. Belle is an innocent, and you need to bring her back right now!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," said Regina, looking up from her paperwork long enough to roll her eyes. "Belle's old memories are gone, and the only thing that can bring them back now is True Love's Kiss."

The Doctor stood on the other side of the desk and bent down to glare at her.

"What are you going to do?" Regina challenged him. "Kill me?"

There was something about the way she said it that put him on edge. Like she was used to having people want her dead. Maybe even like she wouldn't mind if he tried.

"You think I couldn't?" he asked. "Do you have any idea how much blood is on my hands?"

"Well, Belle always did like dangerous men," Regina said, not even flinching. "So I would guess quite a lot."

He stepped back and looked at her. "That doesn't bother you?"

"I have blood on my hands, too. You think they would call me the Evil Queen if I didn't?"

"No, I mean, you think I'm probably some kind of mass murderer, but you're not at all worried about what I'll do?"

She gave a tired sigh. "I'm afraid I can't help you, Doctor. So either kill me, or get out of my office."

He left, but he couldn't help wonder what was hiding behind the Evil Queen's unflinching mask.

* * *

He went to the "royal family", AKA a couple in their late twenties living in a shabby apartment. Snow White was sulking in bed, and Prince Charming told him to find someone else to help him. He tried the sheriff's station, but the blonde in the red jacket – who stared at him in shock for a moment, and then called him "Doctor" without even asking his name – just said that she didn't know anything about magic or breaking memory curses. In the end, he went back to the fairies, fighting the urge to bring his new "one chance" rule down on this town and its people who, for the most part, didn't seem to care at all about Belle.

"I've run some tests on this," he said. "If it's liquefied and drunk, it should be strong enough to bring back her true personality, but I don't know the details of your memory loss curses, so if there's anything you can do to help …

"We'll do our best," said Mother Superior, taking the flower from him.

"I'm warning you," said the Doctor. "I've got a rule, you see. One chance. You get one chance. And if you hurt her or even don't try your best to help her, I will make sure you regret it."

Her eyes narrowed. "Violence and threats. Yes, you're the type of man Belle would be drawn to."

"Just save her, okay?" he said. "Please."

"As I said, we'll do our best."

* * *

A few days later, he was traveling with Rose in the TARDIS when his phone rang. It was Belle.

"Doctor? I remember," she said. "I remember you, and our adventures together, and everything. The town was almost destroyed, and it's okay now, but Rumple and some of the others had to leave to save Henry, and … can you come to Storybrooke? I need a friend right now."


	5. Three Broken Hearts

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS alone, with a solemn expression on his face. When Belle looked up, she knew something was wrong.

"Where are the others?" she asked. "Where's Rose?"

He shook his head in silence, and she knew something horrible must have happened. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug.

"What happened here?" he asked. "You sounded so upset on the phone. Was it the Cybermen?"

Belle tilted her head and stared at him. "Cybermen?"

"I thought it might have been … they were all over the rest of the planet, and there were Daleks, too … but I think that would be a few years ago for you …"

"There were never any Cybermen or Daleks," Belle told him. "Not that I can remember. But Storybrooke is odd. During the curse, they say that no one could come or go without bad things happening. And now there's a barrier spell. Rumple said we weren't safe without it."

"Not safe?" the Doctor asked. "Who did he think was coming?"

"Others like Greg and Tamara, the people who tried to destroy the town. They believed that magic doesn't belong in this world. They kidnapped Henry and took him through a portal …"

"Henry?"

"Rumple's grandson, Emma and Regina's son …"

"And they went after him," the Doctor guessed. "That's what you meant on the phone, isn't it?"

Belle nodded. "He said he was going to his death."

The Doctor's eyes widened, and he hugged her close. He didn't offer any words of hope or encouragement, just a quiet, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." But that was better, Belle thought.

"Do you want to go somewhere?" he asked. "I know a planet covered in flowers, where the sky is violet and the stars shine brighter than you can even imagine from Earth."

"I'm sure that's very beautiful," said Belle. "But I can't afford to leave right now. Rumple said the town needs me, and I can't let them down."

The Doctor smiled. "Well, that's the thing about traveling with me. I can bring you back to this exact moment. No need to let the town down at all."

Belle smiled. "All right, then. Let's go."

* * *

The planet of flowers was indeed beautiful. It was daytime when they arrived, so Belle would have to take the Doctor's word for it about the stars, but nothing could possibly be more breathtaking than the pale lavender of the sky as she sat down in a field of flowers, strange types of flowers that she had never seen before on Earth or in the Enchanted Forest. In a way, this world almost reminded her of home.

"It's so quiet here," she murmured. "Storybrooke was always so noisy. Cars, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, people bustling through town … so many more people than we had in any of the castles I've lived in."

The asylum had been quiet, but it had been an empty, haunting sort of quiet. Not this peaceful quiet where the wind rustled through the leaves of the trees and strange creatures that looked like a cross between butterflies and very small birds flitted from flower to flower.

"What was it like?" the Doctor asked. "The Enchanted Forest?"

"It was … so different from anything in this world. This universe," said Belle, plucking a red flower that looked a bit like a rose. "Maybe like Earth in the middle ages, but that's not quite right, either, because there were fairies, and ogres, and people who could use magic … and you might think it would be wonderful, but it wasn't always. It was dangerous. Just as dangerous as any place we've been together. There were wars that devastated the kingdoms, evil kings and queens, ogres, beasts … it was a land where True Love was the most powerful magic, but arranged marriages were more common. A land of happily ever after where happy endings didn't exist for everyone, or even for most people."

"It sounds complicated," said the Doctor.

"It was," she agreed. "But tell me about your world. Gallifrey."

A shadow crossed his face. Just like it always did when she mentioned his home planet.

"There's not much to say. It's gone."

Where had she heard that before?

"It's okay, Doctor," she said, taking his hand. "You can tell me anything."

"I burned it."

"What?" Her eyes widened. She let his hand fall from hers.

"I had no choice. There was a war unlike any you can imagine, and it was the only way to end it. Gallifrey or the universe. I had to make a choice. And it broke my hearts to do it, but I did. Their blood is on my hands."

Belle looked at him, unsure of what to say. She opened her mouth, but words escaped her.

"I'm sorry. I'm not what you thought."

"You're exactly what I thought," said Belle. "A good man who sometimes has to make hard choices."

"Even if I have more blood on my hands than your Evil Queen? The people who travel with me … sometimes horrible things happen to them. Rose … Rose is trapped in a parallel world because of me."

So that was what this was about. Not the Gallifreyans at all, but Rose. "Rumple created the curse. He planned it. To find his son again. And a few days ago, when Greg and Tamara tried to destroy Storybrooke, it was Regina who stopped them. They say she was willing to sacrifice her life." Belle paused for a moment and looked the Doctor in the eye. "We've all done bad things. And we all can do good things. You're not a monster."

He smiled, but she wasn't quite sure he believed her. He had never reminded her more of Rumple.

"I'll always be here for you."

"I hope so," he said. "I really hope so."

* * *

Given how their last few adventures had gone, Belle was half expecting the flowers to come to life and try to kill them. But they remained still, the planet tranquil, and when the sun set in a magnificent rush of orange and red, the stars came out. The Doctor had been right: they were brighter and bolder than any stars on earth, and they shone like little jewels in the sky.

"This was nice," she said. "Different from what we usually do. But nice."

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Sometimes, we all need a chance to rest, and breathe, before we plunge back into the chaos."

"I should really go back soon," said Belle. "Storybrooke needs me."

"And the universe needs me," said the Doctor. "Shall we, then?"

Hand-in-hand, they boarded the TARDIS and set their course for Storybrooke.


	6. Cyberbrooke

"Doctor?" Martha asked, looking out the door of the TARDIS into the woods. "There's nothing here."

"Hmm … must have missed it by a bit. No worries. It's around here somewhere."

"What's supposed to be here, anyway?" Martha asked. "Aliens? Robots?"

"Fairy tales, if you can believe that," the Doctor said.

"Fairy tales? You mean like Cinderella? Snow White?"

He nodded, as if that wasn't even stranger than a hospital whisked away to the moon or Carrionites in Shakespearean England.

"Not the aliens who inspired our fairy tales? The real things?"

"Well …" the Doctor frowned. "I haven't quite figured that out yet. But they're definitely human, most of them, and they certainly think they're fairy tale characters. From what I can tell, they come from some sort of parallel universe, brought here to Maine by some sort of reality-bending technology disguised as a witch's curse. But this can't be right."

He checked the coordinates again. "We should have landed right on the corner by the library, but …"

"There's nothing here," Martha finished for him.

"That can't be right. Come back in the TARDIS, I'll try again."

A few moments later, they were looking out on another stretch of empty forest. He tried again. Same thing.

"No. No no no no no. This can't be happening. Where is it?"

"Doctor?" Martha asked, looking at him in concern. "What's happening?"

"It's gone. Storybrooke is gone."

She approached him slowly, carefully.

"You said there was someone here you wanted me to meet?"

"Belle."

Martha held back her disbelief as she realized which fairy tale Belle was probably supposed to be. Whether she was a fairy tale princess or not, she was clearly real to him.

"Maybe it's okay. If they're from another world, maybe they just went back."

"If so, that's two companions I've lost to a parallel world," said the Doctor sadly. "But I suppose it's better than … well, most of the alternatives."

* * *

Back inside the TARDIS, the Doctor frantically adjusted the coordinates, pushing them a few weeks back in time, then a few weeks forward. Nothing changed. There was no sign that a town had ever been there.

Then, from out of nowhere, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Doctor?"

"Belle!? What's happening? Where are you? What happened?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "I'm here, in Storybrooke, I'm fine. I'm …"

"When?" he asked.

She told him.

"That's over a year from now. You're calling me from the future, Belle. What happened? Why am I looking at a forest that doesn't look like there was ever a town in it?"

"It's … kind of a long story. We went back home. But there was another curse, and we're back. Can you come to the pawn shop? I need your help with something, Doctor."

* * *

"Welcome to Storybrooke," said the Doctor as they stepped out onto Main Street.

"Is it always this cold?" Martha asked.

The Doctor looked out at the snow-covered streets and buildings. "No. Definitely not in spring."

"That must've been what she wanted help with, then," said Martha. "Do you think aliens …"

"Could be. But in this town, it's just as likely to be something else. Something they'd call magic."

"But you don't believe it's magic?"

"I don't know what it is," he admitted. "But it's snowing. Let's go and find out why."

* * *

When they reached the pawn shop, a little brunette girl came running up and threw her arms around the Doctor, who hugged her tight and grinned.

"Doctor. It's been so long."

"It has," he said. Turning his attention to his new companion, he added: "Belle, I want you to meet Martha Jones. Martha, this is Belle French."

"You found someone new to travel with," said Belle. She didn't sound jealous. On the contrary, she sounded relieved. "It's lovely to meet you, Martha."

Turning back to the Doctor, she said, "I have so much to tell you, Doctor." Grinning, she held up her left hand. Martha noticed the sparkly diamond on her finger right away, but the Doctor's brow crinkled in confusion.

"Did you do your nails differently?" he asked.

"No, silly," said Belle. "I got married. To Rumple."

A moment of awkward silence fell over the three of them. Belle almost looked as if she was bracing herself, as if the Doctor might not be pleased to hear the news, and he didn't look quite like he was sure how to react. But then he smiled and told her he was happy for her, and the tension melted away. Martha wondered if she was another Rose he had never quite gotten over.

"What's going on, then?" Martha asked. "All this snow in the middle of spring, there's got to be something wrong."

"No, no, the snow isn't why I called you here," Belle said. "I know it's not exactly normal for this time of year, but we know what happened. The Charmings have it all under control."

"Then what do you need my help with?" he asked.

Belle disappeared behind the curtain that led to the back of the pawn shop and returned with a silver creature about the size of a mouse, crushed as if it had been hit with something heavy. It wasn't moving. Martha didn't recognize it, but the Doctor's eyes widened in fear.

"Do you know what it is, then?" she asked.

"A Cybermat," he said. "I haven't seen one of these in a long time …"

"What is it, Doctor?" Belle asked. "Is it dangerous?"

"On its own?" he asked. "A bit dangerous, yes. But where there are Cybermats, there are Cybermen, and it's the Cybermen you should really be afraid of. Where did you find it?"

"Crawling around the pawn shop," said Belle. "It tried to … I think it tried to attack me, but I smashed it with a hammer. What do they do?"

"They turn you into Cybermen," said the Doctor. "Emotionless metal men who used to be human."

"You don't remember?" Martha asked. "The Cybermen and Daleks? The Battle of Canary Wharf? I thought everyone knew about that."

"No, Storybrooke is different," said Belle. "It never happened here. The town line kept them out, we think. But … oh. When Storybrooke came back, there was no spell keeping people out at first. Do you think it could have gotten in then?"

"The Cybermen that attacked Earth before didn't have anything like this," said Martha.

"No," said the Doctor. "But I've seen them before. Yes, I think it could have gotten in then, although where it came from is another question. Cybermen on Earth again …" his face paled in fear.

"Look, you're the only one I could go to," said Belle. "The Charmings are busy trying to stop the Snow Queen, and Rumple's out doing something important … the last thing they need is another crisis on top of the one we already have. So. What do we do to fix it?"

"Well, first we fix this little fellow and let him lead us to the others. And then … well, I've dealt with Cybermen before. We'll come up with something."

* * *

The Cybermat led them straight into the graveyard and crawled up to the front of a crypt. Belle's face paled as they approached.

"What's wrong?" Martha asked.

"This is Regina's crypt," said Belle.

"The Evil Queen?" the Doctor asked. "You think she has something to do with this?"

Belle shrugged. "I hope not. She's been different, lately. She saved us all, more than once. But …"

But Belle could never quite bring herself to trust the woman who locked her up for 28 years. Not completely. Not without serious doubts.

"Only one way to find out," said Martha.

* * *

Regina looked up from her books in annoyance. As if she needed one more problem on top of everything else. Then, remembering that Henry was with her, she tried to keep her frustration under control. "What do you need?"

"We're trying to stop something that might put the whole town in danger," said Belle.

Regina nodded, her irritation fading. She glanced from Belle to Martha, and then to the man beside them, recognizing him from when he had stormed into her office years ago. "Doctor. What are you doing here?"

"Following this," he said, gesturing to the Cybermat, which was now crawling off past the wall of beating hearts. "It's dangerous. Alien. Have you seen anything else like it? Or men made of metal?"

Regina tilted her head and peered at it.

"No, I haven't," she said.

"Well, it seems to think this is where it came from," said the Doctor. "So if you don't mind, we're going to have a look around and … stay away from it," he warned as Henry approached the Cybermat. "It's dangerous."

"I'm not scared of danger," said Henry. "And I know what that is. We're looking for Cybermen, aren't we?"

The Doctor's eyes widened, and Regina looked at her son in confusion.

"Emma watches Doctor Who," he explained, speaking more to Regina than the Doctor. "He's a character from a story, just like everyone else here. What we're dealing with are emotionless cyborgs determined to convert humanity into metal monsters like them, and if we don't find them, the whole town is in trouble."

"What are their weaknesses?" Regina asked.

"Um …" Henry looked to the Doctor for help. "Usually on the show they have to blow them up or trap them in a parallel world or something."

To everyone's surprise, Belle smiled.

"I have an idea," she said. "Hang on, I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Take Henry with you," said Regina. "Drop him off with the Charmings."

"But Mom," he protested. "I know this story. I want to help!"

"No," Regina insisted. "This is a danger to the town, and I'm going to take care of it, but the best thing you can do to help me is to stay safe. Go with Belle."

He nodded, a crestfallen expression on his face. But if she knew one thing about him, it was that he was lying.

* * *

"Are you really the Evil Queen?" Martha asked, trying to keep her voice casual as the three of them followed the Cybermat deeper and deeper into the crypt. "Like, 'mirror, mirror, on the wall …'?"

Regina let out an impatient snort.

"The stories aren't the ones you know," she said. "But yes. I was Snow White's stepmother, and believe me, I had much better questions for my mirror than that idiotic queen from the movie."

"Belle said you had changed," the Doctor observed. "She said you saved the town."

Regina nodded silently.

"Why?"

She stopped walking and looked him in the eye. "When you have as much blood on your hands as I do and suddenly find yourself with a second chance, what can you do but start trying to protect people? Something I suspect you can understand, Doctor."

He didn't reply. But Martha noticed a familiar sadness in his face.

"Come on," said Regina. "Let's go find these Cybermen before they take over my town."

* * *

"You've got to go stay with your grandparents," Belle told Henry. "Your mother will kill me if she finds out I let you tag along."

"No, she won't," Henry assured her. "My mom doesn't kill people anymore, remember?"

"It's a figure of speech," said Belle. "And she's right. You need to stay out of danger."

Henry crossed his arms and pouted. "If you drop me at the Charmings', I'll just go right back out and back to my mom's vault. Besides, I've dealt with worse than this before."

Belle sighed.

"Please let me come."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

He grinned and shook his head. "So what's the plan?"

"There's something I need from Rumple's shop," she said. "Then we go back to the vault and use it on the Cybermen."

"How?"

"You'll see."

* * *

They found half a dozen Cybermen lurking in an old, unused corner of the vault, behind velvet curtains. As the trio approached and Regina ripped away the curtain with a wave of her hand, their eyes lit up and they spoke in robotic voices.

"You will be upgraded."

"We'll see about that," said Martha. "What do we do now?"

The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver, but Regina just scoffed at it and summoned up a ball of fire in her hand. She threw it at the Cybermen, but it bounced off, leaving their metal shells barely singed.

"Was that …"

"Magic," said Regina. "These things can't be invulnerable. What can we do? Smash them? Melt them? Rust them to death?"

"They used to be vulnerable to gold," the Doctor admitted. "But that was a long time ago. I doubt just tossing a gold earring at it would help."

Regina glared at him, as if to say that she was capable of far more than throwing jewelry at her enemies. She held out her hand, and a bottle of potion appeared in it, which she hurled at the Cybermen, hitting one of them square in the chest. It splattered all over, seeping through the cracks in the metal shell, and the Cyberman crumpled to his knees, making noises like a computer splashed with water. The others continued to advance. One of them shot a deadly beam of light that Regina barely dodged.

"What was that?" Martha asked as they backed away.

"Magic," Regina said. To the Doctor, she asked: "You said these things were part-human. Or used to be human. Whatever. Do they have hearts?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't think so. It would all be mechanical."

She cursed under her breath. With a blast of magic, she threw the Cybermen backwards. They bounced against the walls, but simply got up and continued to advance.

Then, footsteps came from above. Belle raced down into the crypt, followed by Henry.

"Get down!" she cried, and they ducked instinctively. In her hand, she held a small box. It was crazy, but Martha could swear she saw some kind of red smoke coming out of the top, and then – as a Cyberman's laser shot past over their heads – they were sucked away as if they had never been there to begin with.

"Let me guess. More magic," said Martha, pulling herself to her feet.

"Pandora's Box," Belle explained. "They can't escape from there. Nothing can."

"Unless someone too curious for their own good opens it," the Doctor amended.

"So get rid of them," said Belle. "Release them into a sun or a black hole. Or leave the box on some uninhabited planet where no one will ever find it."

She held it out to him, and he took it.

"I'll take care of it," he told her. "I promise."


	7. Illusions of Happiness

"How would you like to see a magical city called New York? So after breakfast, pack a suitcase. It's time for you to see the world."

Belle smiled sleepily. She could have told Rumple what they both already knew: that she had seen more of the world than just New York, but he hadn't been there with her to see it. But no. No point in spoiling the moment. She was going on a trip with her husband, and that was worth being happy about, even if he couldn't take her to far-off galaxies or distant futures.

But before she went, she was going to see the Doctor again. So when Rumple left her alone in the shop, she pulled out her phone. Only moments later, a familiar whirring noise filled the air, and the Doctor's blue police box materialized in the back room.

* * *

"Welcome to Euphoria, voted the happiest town in the galaxy for three straight decades."

Belle and Martha exchanged a grin.

"Should make for a change from all the running and screaming," Martha commented.

"Oh, I don't know about that," said the Doctor. "I don't know about that at all."

"What do you mean?" asked Belle.

"Well … I'll just let you see for yourselves, I suppose."

He opened the TARDIS door, and the first thing Belle noticed was how blindingly bright the world was. Not bright like the walls of a hospital, white and cold. No, this world was warm and full of color. Houses were painted bright shades of yellow, flowers bloomed along the sides of the road, and even the sky looked bluer than it did on earth. Every garden had a white picket fence. Belle smiled.

"Beautiful," said the Doctor. "Beautiful, and so, so wrong."

"Why wrong?" Martha asked, looking around in wonder.

"Because this system should be in ruins," said the Doctor. "It was hit hard by the Time War, and this planet is the only one left where there's still life. There's no way they should be prospering like this."

"You'd rather they were suffering?" Belle asked.

"No, of course not. But …" his voice trailed off. At the nearest house, a man had come out the front door, whistling.

"Hello, there!" he cried, waving to the three of them. "I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Oh, we're just passing through," said the Doctor, pulling out his psychic paper and handing it to the man. "That should explain it."

Immediately, the man's posture changed. His back straightened, and his smile grew serious.

"Thank you for your service, Captain. If there's anything I can do to help you …"

"Actually, there is," said the Doctor. "You see, I'm not quite sure where I'm going, so if you could just point me in the right direction …"

"Of course. Guard headquarters are just two blocks down to the right."

The Doctor exchanged a glance with Belle and Martha, and they set off in the direction the stranger had told them.

* * *

It was the only building on the street not painted yellow. Instead, it was a pale brownish-gray that seemed designed to fade into the background. The Doctor showed his psychic paper at the door, and they were ushered inside, past an empty lobby and into an office with a heavy-looking metal door. A large, fat man in a suit sat behind the desk.

"I'm General Jamison," he said. "Welcome to Euphoria. I have to say, when I asked for more guards, I didn't think I'd get any," he said, looking them over with a critical eye.

"Well, everybody's quite interested in what you're doing here," said the Doctor. "And they quite want to make sure you succeed."

"I assume you and your assistants have already been briefed on your duties?"

"Actually, just to clarify, could you go over them again?"

The General rolled his eyes. "It's quite simple. We keep Euphoria happy."

"And how exactly do we do that?" the Doctor asked.

"By facing reality for them. You'll understand soon enough. I'll send you out with an experienced member of the guard."

He pulled out something that looked a bit like a phone and pushed a couple of buttons.

"Sargent Collins? I have a couple of new recruits for you."

* * *

Sargent Collins turned out to be a young man who looked at them as if he was looking right through them.

"Right," he said. "Come with me. I'll show you what we're meant to be doing."

They followed the young sargent past blocks and blocks of yellow houses.

"Does everyone here paint their houses like that?" Belle asked.

"Oh, yes," said the sargent. "Yellow is the color of happiness, and given our situation, happiness is only right. Anything less would be ungrateful."

"Ungrateful?"

"Euphoria is the happiest city in the galaxy, and we've worked hard to make it that way. Here we are. The Border."

Belle raised an eyebrow. She opened her mouth to ask why, if Euphoria was such a perfect town, they needed such a large fence, but the Doctor beat her to it.

"Is it really so hard to keep them in?"

"In?" the young Sargent looked confused. "Captain Smith, the wall isn't about keeping anyone in. It's about keeping danger out."

"Out?"

He laughed. "They really didn't tell you anything, did they?"

As Belle and the Doctor exchanged a wary glance, the sounds of shouts and scuffles broke through the peaceful silence. Around the corner came two guards, dressed in the same uniform as Sargent Collins, dragging a frantic, sobbing young woman.

"I'm sorry! Please, I'm sorry!" she cried. "I won't tell anyone, please don't send me away, please, I'm begging you!"

But they dragged him past Belle and the others, up to the fence, where one of them slid some kind of card. A single metal plate slid out of place, revealing just a glimpse of darkness before the man was thrust out and the wall slid closed again. The only evidence that anything had happened was the faint pounding from the other side of the fence. A couple of children playing in a yard nearby just continued their game, as if nothing was wrong.

Because it wasn't, Belle realized. At least, not to them.

"What was that?"

"Someone who doesn't belong here," said Sargent Collins calmly. "All those who break the rules of Euphoria are banished. That's why there's such a low crime rate. No one wants to die."

* * *

"We'll get to the bottom of this, won't we, Doctor?" Martha said, after they been left at the wall with orders to make sure no one got through.

"Sure we will," he assured her. "There's something very wrong here."

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Belle. "Obviously, there's something bad out there."

"Oh, yes," said the Doctor. "But there's something wrong in here, too."

* * *

Walking up to the front of one of the yellow houses, the Doctor knocked on the door. Moments later, a woman answered, and he showed her the psychic paper.

"How can I help you, Captain?"

"I want you to tell me what's wrong with this town," he said.

"Wrong?" she asked. "There's nothing wrong. Everything is wonderful in Euphoria."

"But there's something not right," he insisted. "You know it. I know it."

She smiled blindly. "Of course not. Everything is fine."

"What's outside the wall?" he asked.

"Oh, you don't want to talk about that," said the woman cheerfully. "There's no need to worry about it."

"No need to worry about it?" Belle asked. "Aren't you scared of whatever's out there?"

The woman shook her head, a contented smile on her face. "Of course not. You'll protect us. And the walls are strong."

"Don't be silly," said Martha. "You can't possibly be so happy about living trapped in this little town with danger right outside."

"Everyone is happy in Euphoria," said the woman. "It would be wrong not to be."

* * *

On their way back into town, they were stopped in the street by Sargent Collins, who whispered something in the Doctor's ear too quietly for Belle or Martha to hear.

"What was that about?" Martha asked.

"Oh, nothing," said the Doctor. "Just a friendly reminder to keep my mouth shut, which I have no intention of doing."

"Aren't we going to get into trouble?" asked Belle.

"Well, I should hope so," said the Doctor. "Best way to find out what's really going on someplace is to get into trouble."

Belle wasn't quite sure if she liked that idea, but she wasn't about to say it. Anyway, she trusted the Doctor.

* * *

When they arrived back at the only dull gray building in town, armed guards were waiting for them.

"Well, I guess that answers the question about getting into trouble," said Belle.

The Doctor didn't protest as the guards led them back to the border, and even had the nerve to try to make small talk as they went. You would think he wasn't nervous at all, and maybe he wasn't. But Belle's stomach churned as they approached. The metal plates of the fence slid open, and they were all shoved out into …

… nothing.

Just vast, endless rocky wasteland, devoid of plants or trees or any sign of life. The worn-down remains of ruined buildings stood in the distance, some of them broken, as if a tornado had come through. Even the sky up above was no longer blue, but a cheerless gray. The air itself seemed heavy and thick, and Belle coughed a bit as she inhaled. Behind them, the gate slammed shut again.

"Devastation," said the Doctor. "I thought it must be …"

"What happened?" asked Belle.

"I told you," he replied. "There was a war. A horrible war that devastated entire star systems, this one included. And the world it left behind is dead. Hardly fit for humans to live in."

"How do they do it, then?" Belle asked. "What's the deal with Euphoria?"

"Oh, a good strong wall, an artificial sky, and oxygen filters," said the Doctor. "Aside from that, you'd be surprised what a few buckets of brightly-colored paint can do."

"But it's not real," said Belle.

"Course not," said the Doctor. "But I don't begrudge them trying to make the best of things."

"Then what are we doing here?" Martha asked. "I thought that was the point, that their happiness is fake."

"It is," said the Doctor.

"But …"

"Humans can do great things," he said. "And sometimes those great things come from suffering and hardship. A town that rises out of destruction and becomes a haven of peace and happiness … that's the kind of story I could get behind. But a town that enforces happiness at the threat of death and pretends the elephant outside the gates isn't there …"

Belle nodded, understanding for the first time what he meant.

"This wall isn't to keep a threat out, is it?" she asked. "It's not to protect them from danger. It's to keep them from having to face reality."

"Exactly," said the Doctor. "And tonight, it's coming down."

"Well, you won't be the first to try," said a woman's voice. Belle turned around and saw the same woman who had been thrown out of town earlier that day. Something about her face looked familiar. "No one gets back through that gate. I'm sorry, but … you're doomed."

* * *

"That's not going to work," the stranger said. Not that the Doctor was listening. He was too busy running his sonic screwdriver around the seams in the metal wall. "You can't just unlock it. Anyway, it's not as if they'd let you stay, even if you got back in somehow."

"He won't listen," Martha told her. "He's stubborn that way. I'm Martha Jones, by the way. You?"

The woman barked out a laugh.

"What?"

"We're all going to die out here, and you want to introduce yourself? Make small talk?"

"We're not going to die," said Belle. "The Doctor won't let that happen. I'm Belle French."

The woman was quiet for a moment. Then … "Stella."

Oh. Belle knew her face betrayed what she was thinking, and the Doctor froze, slipping his sonic screwdriver back in his pocket and turning around slowly. He looked closely at her.

"I thought I'd seen your face before," he said. "You were older then, but you've got the same eyes … the same chin … nice to meet you again, Stella!" he took her hand and shook it enthusiastically. "You can call me John Smith, and I can assure you we're not going to die here, because you've got a future somewhere far away from this planet."

She looked away, staring at the ground. "Don't say that. False happiness is cruel enough, but false hope …"

"It's not false hope, I assure you," said the Doctor. "We're getting inside that city."

* * *

"There! Done!" he declared.

"Um … Doctor?" Belle said quietly, staring at solid metal. "What's done? It's still sealed off, isn't it?"

"Exactly," said the Doctor. "We can't just force our way through. We've got to get them to let us in."

"They'll never do that," said Stella.

"They will," he said. "See, I've hijacked the video feed of their fake sky. You see that security camera up there? Everyone's seeing it projected across the sky."

"We can't do that!" Stella cried out, suddenly frantic. "No one in Euphoria likes to think about what's out here! Being forced to see it would break their hearts!"

"They threw you out here to die," he told her. "Do you really care about their feelings?"

Stella went quiet. Belle turned to the camera and spoke:

"I know this is confusing and scary for you. But you can't hide from the truth forever. It's one thing to find happiness in the face of suffering and another thing to ignore reality."

"You have to face the truth," said Martha. "The world you live in isn't perfect, and maybe you've gone too far trying to make it perfect."

"You threw me out just for finding out the truth!" Stella spat. "Just for crying when I found out the truth."

"Truth?" the Doctor's eyes widened. "What truth?"

"It doesn't matter," said Stella.

The Doctor looked at her for a long time, and Belle was sure he was going to insist that it very much did matter. But then he turned back to the camera.

"Your white picket fences and yellow paint are an illusion," he said. "And if they were a harmless illusion, I might not care. But they're not. You're hurting other people, you're hurting yourselves, and someone has to tell you, because you're so brainwashed you can hardly see it."

"Please let us in," said Martha. "Open the gates and face the truth before you have more blood on your hands."

Nothing happened. The gates didn't open, and whatever was happening on the other side, there was no way of knowing.

"It's no use," said Stella. "They don't give a damn."

Miserably, Belle sat down on the ground. Tears ran down her face, and she wiped them away, whimpering slightly.

"I'm supposed to be going on my honeymoon," she sobbed. "Rumple was going to take me to New York."

"You'll get to see it," the Doctor said, sitting down beside her and wrapping his arm around her. "Hey, listen. I promise. Have I ever let you down?"

She shook her head. No. He never had.

* * *

Hours passed. The sky went dark, and they curled up on the ground to go to sleep, while the Doctor sat up and kept watch. Stella suggested they head out for the half-destroyed city on the horizon, but the Doctor shook his head.

"We're not leaving," he said. "It won't do any good, anyway. Nothing can survive for long without Euphoria's oxygen filters."

"No one will live long anyway," said Stella. "That's the truth I found out. The oxygen filters – they're failing."

The Doctor stiffened and looked at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. They've been trying to fix them for months. But sooner or later, everything wears out, and they probably only have a few weeks left. No one knows. That's why they threw me out. They were scared I'd tell."

"And now you have," said the Doctor, standing up. He walked up to the camera and stared straight into it.

"I can get you out of here. I have a spaceship. I can take you someplace safe, probably not someplace as cheerful as Euphoria, but you'll have a chance, a future. Or you can let us die out here and let yourselves die in there. It's your choice."

A few moments later, they heard shouts coming from the inside of the city and fists pounding on the wall. Time passed - maybe minutes, maybe hours, it was hard to tell – and the metal began to fold under the force of dozens of people trying to force their way through. Then, it fell, and they ducked out of the way as it crumbled as easily as if it were made of the wooden blocks children play with. What looked like half the town stood there, some of them with battered chairs and gardening tools, others with bloody fists.

"Good choice," said the Doctor. "Very good choice."

* * *

"It won't be easy," the Doctor warned them as they piled out of the TARDIS. "Your lives won't be as perfect as they were in Euphoria."

"But we'll survive?" asked a man in the crowd.

"I hope so," he said. "The planet's inhabited – and habitable – and they're generally good about taking in newcomers. You should be all right."

As they left, Stella hung back. She looked at the Doctor as if understanding something for the first time.

"I'll see you again, won't I?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "Years from now, when you least expect it, and I won't look the same. But you'll recognize the blue box."

"Goodbye, then," she said. "For now."

* * *

"Where to now, Doctor?" asked Martha.

"Cardiff. The TARDIS looks like she needs to be recharged. Want to come with us, Belle?"

But Belle shook her head. "I have a honeymoon to get ready for."

* * *

Belle heaved the suitcase shut. Or, at least, she tried to; stuffed as full as it was, it didn't want to close. As she wrestled with it, a young boy walked into the shop.

"Hey, Grandma," he said. (She would really have to talk to him about calling a woman in her early thirties "Grandma", whether she technically was or not). "Are you taking a trip?"

"Rumple's taking me to New York for our honeymoon."

When he told her about the spell on the town line, she just shrugged. There were always ways of getting back in, and Rumple was just as clever as the Doctor about things like that.

"Okay, so … I need another suitcase," she said. "Help me look?"

But when he tried to take one from a high-up shelf and sent a pile of things tumbling down, a certain gauntlet caught her eye. She paused, staring at it.

And when she picked it up and saw where it led her, all her illusions of happiness came crashing down on her.


	8. Beauty and the Beast

Belle stood at the town line. The man she thought had been her true love was gone, and all she could do was watch the road she had forced him down, tears in her eyes, wondering to herself where she had gone wrong. She reached into her pocket for her phone, knowing she couldn't just stand there all night. But who could she call to come and get her? She bristled at the thought of asking the Charmings for a ride home, wherever home would be now, and having to watch their happiness in the face of her own misery. And Regina … no. Despite how much Belle knew she had changed, the thought of being trapped in a car with her former captor was terrifying. She had half-dialed Archie's number, when another thought occurred to her.

The Doctor.

Who could understand better than the man who had sacrificed his home planet to save the universe? Who would know better than he did what it felt like to break your own heart for everyone else's happy ending? Not only was she sure he would judge neither her actions nor her tears, he would get it in a way no one in Storybrooke possibly could.

And he could take her away. Not forever. Just for a while. Just until her heart had healed enough to move on with her life. She still had to figure out how to let the fairies out of the hat, but that could come later. With the Doctor, she literally had all the time in the world.

So, with new confidence, she dialed his phone number.

"Hello? Belle?"

"Doctor. I'm at the town line, and I need you to come and get me."

* * *

"What happened? You look horrible."

He figured she must be right. The past few days – the past year, really – had been hellish for him. But she just took his hand and looked up at him with those perceptive blue eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"It's been a hard year."

"Year?" Belle asked. "But it's only been a few hours."

He shook his head. "For you, maybe. Anyway, the whole year was erased, and it was farther back in your past. I don't suppose it would have been more than a few hours for you. But a lot has happened since I saw you last."

Maybe if he could talk forever, he would stop hurting somehow.

"Doctor?" said Belle. "What happened? What's wrong?"

He sighed. Of course she would notice. She was far too good at telling when someone was in pain, even – perhaps especially – when they tried to hide it.

"I'm the last of the Time Lords."

Her features clouded with confusion.

"I mean, I was. But then I wasn't, there was another, and he was … he was horrible, more horrible than you can imagine, but at least I wasn't the only one. And now he's gone, he's dead, and it feels like …"

"Like you've lost your whole world all over again," said Belle. "I understand."

Belle went quiet, and sadness clouded her gaze. The Doctor realized a few things at once. (One, she wasn't on her honeymoon. Two, she looked like she was about to cry. And three, there was far too much empathy in her voice when she talked about feeling like you had lost your whole world. Belle had always been empathetic, but this was different somehow.)

"Something's happened to you, too, hasn't it?"

Belle nodded. A few tears escaped and ran down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry. I should have seen it sooner."

"No, it's okay," she said. "It's not your fault. But Doctor, I need to get out of here. Now."

"Something happened with Rumple, didn't it?" he asked.

She choked back a sob and nodded. "I was wrong about him. He tried to do something horrible, and I had to banish him – for the sake of everyone in Storybrooke, but it was still the hardest thing I've ever done."

He wrapped her up in a hug and pressed a kiss onto her forehead.

"I'm so sorry, Belle," he murmured. "The worst things happen to the best people, and I know it's not much comfort, but you deserve better."

"So do you," she murmured.

No, he thought. There was a world of difference between someone like him and someone like Belle. He was mourning for a planet he destroyed and a monster the world was better off without. She was mourning for her husband who betrayed her, and if the lines between right and wrong were a little more blurry than that, it didn't put a sweet girl like Belle on the same level as the Doctor.

But he didn't say that. He just held her tight.

* * *

"Do you know where my fairy tale came from?" Belle asked a while later, when they were sitting together in the TARDIS console room. "In this world, I mean. I've done some reading, and the original Beauty and the Beast, the one Disney got the idea from, came from eighteenth-century France."

"You want to go there?"

"I've pretty much lost faith in my fairy tale," Belle admitted. "Or at least lost faith that it has a happy ending. If I could see where it came from, then maybe …"

The Doctor nodded.

"All right, then. I can take you there."

* * *

Anyone else might have found the dress uncomfortable. Painful, even. But Belle was used to corsets, and even if she hadn't worn one in years, it felt familiar. She looked at her reflection in the glass and saw someone who looked more like she belonged in the Enchanted Forest than in Storybrooke.

"You look beautiful," said the Doctor. "Now are you ready to see Paris?"

"I'm ready," said Belle.

* * *

"So, I have a question," said Belle, sitting in a sidewalk café with the Doctor.

"Ask away," he told her.

"This is France," she said. "They speak French, right?"

The Doctor nodded.

"Then why am I hearing English all over the place?"

"Translator microbes," he explained. "What, did you think aliens millions of years in the future spoke English?"

"What are you speaking, then?" Belle asked with a faint smile, the brightest he had seen on her face today.

"Raxicoricofallipatorian," he said, fighting to keep a straight face.

"Raxico-what?"

He laughed. "No, I'm speaking Gallifreyan. But there's not a being in the universe who would hear it that way anymore."

By the time he finished that thought, his smile had drained away.

"It was nice hearing it again," he admitted. "Even from an enemy."

He hadn't told that to Martha or Jack. But Belle just nodded and didn't judge.

"Could you teach me?" she asked.

"Teach you Gallifreyan?" he asked. "I mean … why? It's a dead language."

"No, it's not," said Belle. " _You_ speak it. And I'm good with languages. I can read Arendellian runes and Elfish and … what?"

"All right," he said, smiling. "If you really want to learn Gallifreyan, I can teach you, but it won't be easy. The tenses work differently, because time isn't linear for us, and the writing system is different from anything you'll find in Earth languages. Or Enchanted Forest languages, I'd imagine."

Belle grinned now, a real smile for the first time since he had picked her up at the Storybrooke town line.

"I can't wait to get started."

* * *

"I didn't care that he was the Dark One," Belle admitted as they walked along the banks of the Seine. "It's been a long time since I cared about that. He loved me. He was trying to be a better person. I thought that was enough."

"What does it do to you?" the Doctor asked. "Being the Dark One. Did he ever tell you?"

She nodded. "He said it meant having power. Almost limitless power. And a voice … a voice in his head, pushing him to use it for evil. He tried to fight it for so long, and I thought he had beaten it. But it turns out he was only pretending. Maybe he was always just pretending."

"I don't think so," said the Doctor.

Belle raised her eyebrows and looked at him with an unspoken question in her eyes.

"I met him once, when you had lost your memories. I'm not trying to make excuses for what he did, but you had every reason to believe … he really did care for you, and he tried."

"Did I do the right thing?" she asked. It was a question she would never ask anyone else, even herself. But the Doctor nodded.

"You sacrificed your own happiness to protect other people," he said. "That's something only a true hero would do. I'm proud of you."

* * *

"Here we are, then," said the Doctor. "The world where your fairy tale was born: the French literary salon."

Belle's eyes widened as she took in the room around them. Young men and women sat on couches and chairs, listening to one woman who was telling a story that sounded like something straight out of the Enchanted Forest. Belle and the Doctor quietly slipped into seats near the back.

"Is this for real?" Belle whispered. "I know her, the girl in the story. She comes in to the library sometimes. It's not quite what really happened, but …"

He just smiled at her, and another young woman began to speak, telling a fairy tale Belle found less familiar, but just as interesting. She could sit there for hours, with the words filling her up. She could live in this world, she found herself thinking. If she didn't have Storybrooke to return to.

There was a moment of silence when the woman finished her tale, and the Doctor nudged Belle.

"Go on, then," he urged her.

"You mean …"

He nodded. "Tell your story."

Standing, Belle cleared her throat.

"I have a story to share," she said. "You've probably heard this one before, but I don't think anyone's really heard my version. It's a tale about a girl who sacrificed her freedom to save her family and saw the good in a monster."

Once she got going, it was easy. She changed a few details and left out Storybrooke, but the slow realization of the Beast's humanity was straight from memory.

"But she left, and she stayed away too long," Belle said. "It wasn't her fault. An evil sorceress kept her from returning, and when she finally did make it back to her Beast, it was almost too late. Still, she wept and stayed by his side, and her love transformed him. What had once seemed to be a monster was now a good man."

A room full of eyes was upon her, and for a moment, she wanted to end it there. If only it had ended there. But it would be a lie.

"They thought that they would live happily ever after, and yet, the monster remained. When the girl least expected it, her Beast's curse returned, and she was forced to choose to stand by him or protect her kingdom from the monster that now threatened them all. So, just as she had sacrificed her freedom, she now sacrificed her heart. She forced the Beast from her kingdom and used powerful magic to ensure that he could not return. As her heart shattered, she turned to the royal physician, an old man whose heart had been broken and pieced back together long ago, who still mourned the loss of a home he could never return to. He swore to help her, because the two of them understood what few people ever grasped: that sometimes, being a hero isn't about adventure and glory. Sometimes, it means sacrificing the things you hold most dear."


End file.
